Moving to Kansas from Utah
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Utah to Kansas — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Utah to Kansas, you would find that Kansas is 8.2% cheaper than Utah. A $75,000 salary in Utah would need to be roughly $68,800 in Kansas to maintain the same lifestyle. Salt Lake City and Wichita are about 810 mi apart.
Is Kansas cheaper than Utah?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 0.4% less
Groceries
pay 12.7% more
Transportation
pay 23.8% less
Housing
pay 14.9% less
Childcare
pay 20.7% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.4% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Kansas?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $68,800
To maintain the same standard of living in Kansas
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Kansas cost about 6% less than cities in Utah.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Utah to Kansas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Utah performs better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Utah performs better than Kansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Kansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Utah leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Utah generally does better on infrastructure, though Kansas leads in average commute.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Utah generally does better on employment & economy, though Kansas leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Utah generally does better on family life, though Kansas leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Kansas vs Utah
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Salt Lake City | Wichita |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 45°/27°F (7°/-3°C) | 49°/28°F (10°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/48°F (22°/9°C) | 77°/55°F (25°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/60°F (31°/16°C) | 89°/66°F (32°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 57°/35°F (14°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Salt Lake City | Wichita |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37°/22°F (3.0°/-5.8°C) | 42°/22°F (5.8°/-5.6°C) |
| Feb | 43°/25°F (6.2°/-3.8°C) | 48°/26°F (9.0°/-3.3°C) |
| Mar | 54°/34°F (12.1°/0.9°C) | 58°/35°F (14.4°/1.7°C) |
| Apr | 62°/40°F (16.4°/4.2°C) | 68°/44°F (19.8°/6.9°C) |
| May | 72°/48°F (22.2°/8.8°C) | 77°/55°F (24.8°/12.9°C) |
| Jun | 83°/56°F (28.3°/13.6°C) | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.3°C) |
| Jul | 93°/65°F (33.7°/18.2°C) | 92°/70°F (33.5°/21.0°C) |
| Aug | 90°/63°F (32.5°/17.4°C) | 91°/69°F (32.9°/20.4°C) |
| Sep | 79°/53°F (26.2°/11.7°C) | 83°/60°F (28.1°/15.3°C) |
| Oct | 65°/41°F (18.2°/5.2°C) | 70°/47°F (20.9°/8.3°C) |
| Nov | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.8°C) | 56°/35°F (13.4°/1.4°C) |
| Dec | 38°/23°F (3.3°/-5.2°C) | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.4°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Kansas than Utah?
Yes — Kansas is on average about 8% cheaper than Utah. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Kansas?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $17,200 in Kansas on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Kansas safe?
Utah performs better than Kansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Kansas compared to Utah?
Utah performs better than Kansas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Kansas compared to Utah?
The average high temperature in Wichita is 68°F, compared to 64°F in Salt Lake City. Wichita receives around 32.6 in of rainfall per year, while Salt Lake City gets 16.1 in.
